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Check out your children’s video games

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Monday January 14, 2013 3:11 AM

In Jessica Johnson’s Dec. 28 Forum column “Glorification of violence is harmful,” the following quote resonated with me: “Like movies, video games are rated, so it is the parents’ responsibility to monitor what’s going into the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.”

As a pediatrician, I regularly ask my patients about hobbies, and video games come up frequently. I often have to hide my surprise when an 8- or 9-year-old patient tells me that he plays
Call of Duty or
Halo. Both games are rated “Mature 17+” by the Entertainment Software Rating Board because of depictions of blood and violence.

Many parents do not realize the content or mature rating of such video games. An online survey cited by gaming website Kotaku.com in April 2012 showed that 64 percent of parents answered “no” when asked whether they checked age restrictions on their children’s video games.

Having personally played both games, I do not advise allowing children to play them, especially since multiple child-development theories suggest children are more vulnerable to influence from topics they are exposed to on-screen.

I do not hold anything against video games themselves. They are an entertainment medium like books, movies and television shows, and entitled to the same freedoms of expression and communication. However, parents are responsible for screening the media content that is purchased for their children.

I urge parents to actively investigate both the content and rating of video games before purchasing them for their children.